Resonant sensors are used in the precision pressure measurement field because of their high stability, high sensitivity and low temperature coefficients. Resonant sensors can be constructed of primarily silicon-based materials using standard processes of the semiconductor industry including thin-film deposition, etching, doping and lithography. While resonant pressure sensors are generally more complex than piezoresistive pressure sensors, their stability and accuracy are less dependent on electronic signal processing circuitry than are comparable piezoresistive sensors and capacitive sensors. Currently available resonant sensors have resonators comprised of a single material such as quartz, single crystal silicon or deposited polysilicon films. Very high precision resonators have been made from well-cut quartz.
The vibrating micromechanical body or resonator of a resonant pressure sensor provides a frequency as output data, the frequency depending upon a stress such as pressure that modifies the natural resonant vibrational frequency of the resonator. A load applied to the sensor structure strains the resonator causing a resonant frequency shift of the resonator. The frequency output of the resonator provides a measure of the magnitude of the mechanical load applied to the sensor structure, and as a result, pressure can be measured as a consequence of the frequency shift. Currently available resonant pressure sensors interface with analog and/or digital electronics to measure pressure.
In a conventional piezoresistive pressure sensor, deformations of a silicon diaphragm with applied pressure cause shifts in a Wheatstone bridge fabricated from single-crystal piezoresistors in the diaphragm resulting in a voltage output indicating the amount of pressure applied to the sensor. The output voltage from the Wheatstone bridge requires an analog-to-digital (AD) conversion to be used in digital systems. An example of a surface-micromachined absolute pressure sensor has a pressure diaphragm formed from a deposited thin film of polysilicon with an integral vacuum cavity reference directly under the diaphragm and dielectrically isolated polysilicon piezoresistors, as described in “Sealed cavity semiconductor pressure transducers and method of producing the same,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,863, Guckel et al., issued May 17, 1988.
The widespread use and continuing trend toward digital information and control systems, together with the need for more accurate and higher-pressure instrumentation, have prompted the development of digital pressure transducers capable of precision measurements in pressure ranges up to about 250 MPa. One exemplary high-precision digital pressure sensor operates on the principle of changing the resonant frequency of load-sensitive quartz crystals with pressure-induced stress. Frequency signals from the quartz crystals are counted and linearized through microprocessor-based electronics to provide two-way communication and control in digital formats. The aforementioned quartz crystal pressure transducers have a resolution as good as a few parts per billion and have been used to determine the performance of high precision, primary standard dead-weight testers.
One example of a surface-micromachined resonant sensor has a resonant strain gage formed from a deposited thin film of polysilicon with an integral vacuum cavity surrounding the resonator. Several patents providing background to such resonant sensors include “Dielectrically isolated resonant microsensors,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,115, Burns, issued May 23, 1995; “Static pressure compensation of resonant integrated microbeam sensors,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,000, Burns et al., issued Oct. 17, 1995; “Cantilevered microbeam temperature sensor;” U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,427, Burns, issued Apr. 30, 1996; “Method for making a thin film resonant microbeam absolute;” U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,705 Herb et al., issued May 5, 1998; and “Thin film resonant microbeam absolute pressure sensor,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,210 Herb et al., issued Sep. 15, 1998.
Another example of a resonant pressure sensor, which is fabricated from single-crystal silicon, is disclosed in “Semiconductor pressure sensor and its manufacturing method,” Watanabe et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,509 issued Mar. 9, 1999. The sensor comprises a single-crystal silicon substrate, a closed air-gap chamber, a measured diaphragm made by epitaxial growth, and a strain detection element incorporated in the measuring diaphragm.
The operation of a resonant pressure sensor requires a resonator to be excited into vibrational motion and detection of this motion. Forces and moments are applied that bend, twist, elongate or contract the resonator. Various methods for excitation and detection of resonant sensors have been proposed including thermal excitation with piezoresistive detection; electrostatic excitation with capacitive detection; Lorentz force excitation with magnetic flux detection; piezoelectric excitation with piezoelectric detection, and optical excitation with optical detection. In an exemplary method, resonant microbeams are driven and sensed by a single multimode optical fiber using a strain-sensitive oscillator, as described in “Fiber-optic vibration sensor based on frequency modulation of light-excited oscillators,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,246,638, Zook et al., issued Jun. 12, 2001. A suggested method for driving and sensing a resonant sensor by using modulated and unmodulated light from multiple light sources is described in “Multi-wavelength optical drive/sense readout for resonant microstructures,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,844,236, Wilson, issued Dec. 1, 1998. A photodetector detects the filtered reflected light to determine the resonant frequency of the resonator.
Resonators may be hermetically sealed in an evacuated cavity or enclosure to provide separation from the surrounding environment, eliminating effects such as air damping of the resonator and mass loading on the resonator body.
Micro-electrical-mechanical systems (MEMS) researchers are working on producing precision resonant pressure sensors having increased noise immunity, intrinsic safety, and long line-driving capability. It is desirable that a pressure sensor can operate in the harsh conditions associated with, for example, turbine engines, high-speed combustors, and other aerospace and industrial applications.
Because of limitations in the use of electrically powered/electrical output sensors in high-noise environments, hazardous areas, and some medical applications, it is advantageous to combine the precision of resonator-based sensors with the total optical isolation of fiber-optic technology. One method of optically powering a resonant low-pressure sensor is described in “Optically powered resonant integrated microstructure pressure sensor,” Youngner, U.S. Pat. No. 6,710,355, issued Mar. 23, 2004.
In the pressure-sensor industry and other sensor application areas, the need exists for precise and stable sensors having low hysteresis, remote access, electromagnetic interference (EMI) immunity, and increased safety in harsh, volatile, or explosive environments with the elimination of voltage and electronic circuitry at the sensor element. Additional features that are desirable for resonant sensors include a simplified fabrication process, integral vacuum sealing, reduction or elimination of stiction and snap-down or pull-in problems associated with the resonator, accurate positioning of the drive and sense electrodes, alignment of the phase between the drive frequency and resonator movement over a wide frequency range, high signal-to-noise ratio of the detected signal, simplification of the optical interface to the resonator, and the opportunity for relatively easy integration of the sensor with more complex fabrication processes such as complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) and bipolar complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (BiCMOS) processes.